Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

The Efficacy Of Baby Sign Language In Reducing Problem Behaviors In Typically Developing Children, Nguyen-Chau Dinh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Baby sign is an emerging trend that is speculated to reduce the instances of tantrums, emotional outbursts, and frustration in typically hearing infants (Nelson, White, & Grewe, 2012). Despite its proclaimed benefits, little research has been conducted to evaluate the true efficacy of baby sign in reducing problem behaviors in typically hearing children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not baby sign could be used as an alternative and augmentative communication modality in increasing communicative intent and decreasing stress. A single subject, AB design was used to examine the changes in behavior in a typically developing …

Preseason Assessment As A Predictor Of Post-Concussion Performance Of Athletes On The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment And Cognitive Test, Kelly Marie Lambeth

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ideally, athletes are assessed pre-season to establish their cognitive-communicative status for comparison purposes if the athlete suffers a concussion during their season. Post-concussion (PC) assessment comparison with the baseline (BL) assessment will provide clinical information for treatment of the athlete's concussion. The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) test was used for assessment of pre-and post-concussion. Because the literature indicates that some athlete's attempt to actively perform poorly on the preseason assessment to misrepresent their performance post-concussion it would be interesting to determine if there is a score on the ImPACT pre-season test that would predict their post-concussion test …

Changes In Fundamental Frequency Of Voice In A Group Of Transwomen Following Voice Modification Therapy, Emily Marquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The term transgender refers to an individual that identifies with a gender that is different to the one given at birth. Individuals that are transgender experience conflict between the gender the individual identifies with and the sex they are born with. Individuals that are transgender may elect to go through a transition process so that their outward appearance is congruent with their gender identity. Part of the transition process may include voice modification therapy. Transgender individuals may seek voice modification therapy so that the outward appearance matches the voice. However, there is limited information regarding the efficacy of traditional voice …

Using Baby Sign As A Facilitating Technique To Segment Speech With 4-18-Month-Old Monolingual And Bilingual Hearing Infants-An Extension Study, Johanna Puga-Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The intricacies involved in learning language are astounding, nonetheless, infants are more than capable of accomplishing this feat within their first few years of life. This unbelievable achievement is carried out through numerous milestones and exposure to multiple modalities of stimuli all around them. Through the use of these modalities, be it auditory or visual, infants begin their journey to learn language with the task of extracting words from fluent speech, speech segmentation. Researchers have found that infants as young as 6-months can segment words from the speech stream by using their own name or highly familiar words like momma …

An Evaluation Of Interprofessional Knowledge And Attitudes In Graduate Students From Six Programs In Health Sciences After An Interprofessional Education Workshop Experience, Joanna Velasco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Interprofessional Education (IPE) occurs when two or more disciplines learn about, from, and with each other to provide interprofessional patient-centered care which ultimately improves patient health care outcomes (WHO, 2010). Through collaboration, students not only bring their own expertise, but are given an opportunity to learn what the other disciplines can offer for the same patient. Although IPE's importance is highly recognized, many universities do not engage in IPE practice because of scheduling difficulties, lack of faculty involvement, implementation challenges for various levels of competency, and uncertainty of how to measure the effectiveness of IPE activities (Johnson et al., 2015). …

Speech Recognition In Noise Performance In Younger And Older Spanish-English Bilinguals' L1 And L2, Elisa Guadalupe Barraza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Previous research has shown that Spanish/English speaking bilinguals have difficulty understanding English speech in background noise compared to their monolingual counterparts. However, the effects of age on bilinguals' speech understanding performance remains unclear.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether older Spanish/English bilingual speakers are at an increased disadvantage understanding speech in the presence of background noise compared to older English monolinguals.

Methods: 15 younger Spanish-English (S/E) bilinguals, 15 older S/E bilinguals, 15 younger English monolinguals and 15 older English monolinguals participated in the study. Speech recognition performance was measured using the Spanish and English versions …

The Validation Of A Screening Instrument For Preschool-Aged Children In El Paso, Cassandra Curtis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Culturally and linguistically diverse children often produce linguistic features that may mask or mimic characteristics of language impairment (LI) (Gutierrez-Clellen & Simon-Cereijido, 2009). Language screening instruments are time efficient tools used by Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) to distinguish children who may need additional language assessment (Guiberson & Rodriguez, 2010). A previous survey conducted in the El Paso, TX region determined that only 30% of SLPs felt that screenings instruments, for English-Spanish bilingual children, produced accurate results (Cutis, Summers, Smith, & Stubbemann, 2016). Additionally, the study found that SLPs often used non standardized screening tools due to the lack of …

Auditory Selective Attention Performance In Older And Younger Bilingual Adults, Ninive Corina Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent research has suggested that bilinguals may have enhanced cognitive abilities resulting from the constant management and maintenance of their two language systems. This cognitive advantage has been evidenced in studies showing that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on tasks of visual selective attention. However, very little is known regarding how bilingualism influences selective attention in the perception of auditory information. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of bilingualism on auditory selective attention. A total of 61 participants were recruited to participate and divided into four participant groups: 15 younger monolinguals (between the ages of 18-25), 15 …